If God's Not In It, What Does It Matter...?
What' I've come to realize is that,
I make a ton of ASSUMPTIONS that are NOT correct.
Just because I like something,
It's easy to assume others like it too.
Just because I would handle a situation in a certain way,
I think that others should too.
Just because I think it's common sense,
I think it should be common for others too.
How much grief do I cause because of ASSUMPTIONS?
Well, I do the same thing with God.
The biggest, most glaring assumption is,
Because I am doing ASSUMPTIONS FOR God,
That God's IN it.
I ASSUME that because it's FOR God,
He will bless it,
He will favor it,
He's happy I'm doing it.
But is He?...
For example,
You can love God and want to spread His word,
But come on too strong for someone,
In a way that Jesus never would,
And God is not pleased,
He never asked you to do it like that.
You can love God and say you want to use your money to help others,
But you work all the time,
And neglect your health and your family,
And God is not pleased.
He never asked you to do it like that.
You can love God and start a charity to help the poor,
And you never asked God,
Never sat in silence to listen to His voice,
So you never heard Him tell you to wait,
And God is not pleased.
He never asked you to do it at this time.
Doing something FOR God in my way versus,
Doing something FOR God in His WAY,
In His TIMING,
Is totally different.
If I'm not ASKING God,
If I'm not LISTENING for God,
If I'm not WAITING for God,
I can do things FOR God that He never wanted me to,
I can go out of my way FOR God that He never asked me to,
I can do it in WAYS that He didn't want me to,
I can do it in a TIMING He didn't want me to.
What's worse than messing up while doing something for God?
Doing something that God NEVER wanted you to do,
Something that He DIDN'T want you to do,
Something that He was never IN,
Yikes!
That's a double whammy, isn't it?
What I've come to realize is that,
Even if I create an empire of my own FOR God,
If God's not IN it... what does it it matter?
If I climb the tallest mountains,
To place God's name up high,
If God's not IN it... what does it it matter?
If I explore the deepest oceans,
Find treasure beyond imagination,
If God's not IN it... what does it it matter?
God does not operate within human logic,
God has His own logic,
That we do not understand.
When David wanted to build a brilliant temple for God,
God said not now,
Not You,
But your heart is right.
When Paul wanted to spread God's word to Asia,
God said not now,
Not yet,
But your heart is right.
For when Abram wanted to make Ishmael God's promise child,
God said no,
Not him,
It was not His way.
There are so many things we don't know about God,
So many things that are backwards to us,
In life,
In business,
In our hearts.
We can do business to serve God,
But He don't always prosper us right away,
As we want,
In our timing,
According to our plan.
Sometimes we take more steps backwards,
Before we move forward,
Sometimes we hear more no's,
Before we hear the yes'es,
Sometimes the storm come first,
Before the sunlight,
And we can wonder,
God, is this You?
We need new levels of understanding God's will.
Relying on feeling and passion isn't enough anymore.
That was child's play.
We need to grow up now.
We need to slow down,
Seek His presence,
Seek His will,
Seek His timing,
And know the difference between our own drive and God's will.
The key is to practice SEEKING God.
5 Steps to Seeking God
1) Ask.
- Literally ask God questions about your life and business. Have a pen and paper to write your questions as you ask them.answers.
2) Listen.
- Literally sit and wait in silence until a thought emerges. Let the silence hang for at lease 30 seconds. Get comfortable with silence and waiting.
3) Write.
- When a thought emerges, write it down. Don't judge it or over-analyze it. Just write it down.
4) Follow-up.
- Ask a follow-up question to the answer you got. If it's a partial answer you want to get the rest of it. Some may require a few follow-up questions and some may need 8-10. Just keep going until Holy Spirit says "that's it".
5) Rinse & Repeat.
- Keep doing this for every decision you have. It's like exercising a muscle. It's weird at first but it will become natural later.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray this day,
I learn to HEAR You,
I learn to WAIT on You,
I learn to DISCERN Your voice from the noise.
That I would not be fooled into moving,
When you want me to be still.
That I would not mistake passion,
As Your command to move,
That I would not take Your vision,
As my turn to act.
Instead, just as David did NOT build the temple,
Just as Paul did NOT go to Asia,
Just as Jesus did NOT avoid the cross,
I would NOT move unless You're IN it, ON it, OVER it, BEHIND it.
Bring me into new level of understanding,
Bring me into new level of hearing,
Bring me into new level of obedience,
That can only be nurtured with time ALONE with You.
Peace be still in my heart,
Peace be still in my soul,
That I would be able to be still,
And know that You are God.
Let my heart learn the truth that,
That not ALL things I do for You are from You,
Some are distractions,
Some are tests,
Some are instructions.
But that I would know the difference...
The enemy can mislead with passion,
Just as Joseph murdered in passion for Your people,
The enemy can distract with fear,
Just as Peter cut off an ear to protect You,
The enemy can stir with impatience,
Just as Abram slept with a servant to produce a child You promised.
All these things were produced by a passion and desire,
To serve You,
To protect You,
To fulfill Your promise,
But it WASN'T You.
Lord, I want to mature in You,
I want to know the difference,
Between my passion and Your own.
My passion seems so similar to Yours,
When I think I'm doing it for You,
My desire seems so similar to Yours,
When I think I'm doing it for You,
My plan seems so similar to Yours
When I think I'm doing it for You.
Train me Lord,
That I would ONLY know Your voice,
Your desire,
Your will.
That I would not be tricked into building every temple that enters my heart,
For some temples ARE of You and some are NOT,
That the resounding desire in my heart would say,
"If You're not in it, what does it matter?"
Lord, forgive me,
I have built many temples in Your name,
That were never commissioned by You.
They became my idols,
In the form of businesses,
In the form of goals and accomplishments,
In the form of status and worldly treasures,
As it sat on Your throne,
I thought I was doing it for You,
But I truly wasn't.
Change me,
Mold me,
Shape me,
Into something new,
Make me a new creation,
Like only you can do.
You fill my heart with gladness,
You fill my heart with joy,
You fill my heart with hope,
And most importantly LOVE.
Thank You Jesus,
Thank You Father,
Thank You Holy Spirit,
May my life be Yours and Yours alone,
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to new levels of HEARING God!
Keep practicing and make it a PRIORITY!
Wohooo!!! ^_^
